2 DRC Nationals Plead Guilty to Trafficking Ivory, Rhinoceros Horn From DRC to Seattle
Herdade Lokua and Jospin Mujangi, citizens of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington to trafficking wildlife from the DRC to Seattle, DOJ announced. The pair admitted to conspiracy and Lacey Act violations by smuggling elephant ivory, white rhinoceros horn and pangolin scales to the U.S.
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Lokua's and Mujangi's violations began in November 2019, when they worked with a middleman to negotiate the sales and logistics for the illegal shipments, DOJ said July 13. In 2020, they shipped three packages with around 49 pounds of ivory from Kinshasa, DRC, arranging for the ivory to be cut into smaller pieces and painted black. The shipments were then falsely labeled as containing wood. Lokua and Mujangi further admitted to sending rhinoceros horn and pangolin scales in a similar scheme.
The investigation into Lokua's and Mujangi's operation was part of "Operation Kuluna" -- a joint effort through the Office of Homeland Security Investigations, the DRC government and the U.S. Embassy in the DRC, DOJ said. Following the arrests of Lokua and Mujangi, the DRC-based task force seized more than 2,000 pounds of ivory and 75 pounds of pangolin scales worth approximately $3.5 million.